September 23, 2013

Gibson Dunn Hires Top Appellate Attorney

Walker joins
Gibson's appellate and constitutional law practice as a partner. Wiley Rein
partner Andrew McBride will continue to lead the firm's appellate practice.
Walker focuses on regulatory and communications matters.

In 2010, Walker,
representing Comcast Corp., successfully challenged the Federal Communications
Commission effort to regulate the Internet. A three-judge panel of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled against the agency. Walker was back
in the D.C. Circuit recently arguing for Verizon in its fight against the FCC’s
Open Internet Order. The court appeared skeptical about the viability of the
FCC’s latest push to regulate the web.

Before joining
Wiley Rein in 2003, Walker was an associate counsel to President George W. Bush
in the White House Counsel's office. She oversaw matters related to the FCC,
U.S. Department of Labor and Transportation and the Federal Election
Commission. From 1995 to 1996, Walker clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas. Walker was not immediately available for comment.

"Helgi
is a top-notch appellate litigator and also a terrific strategist who can
provide leadership and global strategic advice on our most important litigation
matters," Andrew Tulumello, co-partner-in-charge of Gibson’s Washington
office, said in a statement. "She has extensive experience in the
telecommunications industry and will add capability in the FCC space that will
only grow in importance for our clients."

At
Gibson, Walker joins an appellate team that includes Theodore Olson and Miguel
Estrada, in Washington, and Theodore Boutrous Jr. in Los Angeles. Olson,
co-chair of the firm’s appellate and constitutional law practice group, said in
a statement that Walker’s “experience with high-stakes regulatory appeals fits extremely
well with our appellate group’s current cases and clients.”